At USC to receive a Walter Cronkite award, Katie Couric was downright grumpy about Twitter. Except for her Twitter, which kind of rules, supposedly.

The CBS Evening News anchor was on some sort of panel discussion with George Stephanopoulos at the university. The conversation took an inevitable and lengthy detour onto the topic of microblogging, says Variety. Couric:

Lester Jon Ruston would really, really appreciate it if Katie Couric would stop bothering him already. That's certainly a sentiment we can appreciate! Her CBS newscast is a bit of a bother to sit through, no? Ruston's beef, however, doesn't have anything to do with her role of TV anchor. He says that Couric has spent the last few years making it her mission to harass him and ruin his life. Does that strike you as a little crazy? We should probably mention here that Ruston is a full-time resident of a medical facility that houses the criminally insane. But just because his imagination appears to be getting the best of him doesn't mean he lacks a work ethic. Ruston's original 2006 lawsuit against Couric back when she was at NBC was dismissed by a judge, but he's since updated the suit to reflect her gig at CBS. And this week he filed papers to depose Couric, so he can finally get to the bottom of the conspiracy against him. Ruston's legal filings and correspondence with the judge—which feature his signature catchphrase "Mess with Les... Go Down with the Rest!"—is below.

It's Friday, everyone's turning the page. Madonna wants a new Malawi baby; Method Man promises to pay his taxes and it's Dylan Ratigan's last day to yell at his CNBC producer on camera.

Here's something scary that exists: The Automotive Broadcasting Network ("Fueled by CBS"!), which beams soothing, automotive industry-friendly news into car dealerships, so as not to upset the customers. Katie Couric is a GM zombie!

Katie Couric has a Twitter thing! And on the distributed Internet micro-oversharing service, at last, America's sweetheart seems to realize how frightening she has become.

On 60 Minutes, Katie Couric kept asking Chesley Sullenberger whether his heroic flight was influenced by anything beside training: his gut, his terror, his God. No: "I was sure I could do it."

Honestly, what is up with CBS News anchorlady Katie Couric? First she lets a high-school reporter scoop her, and now she's too lazy to get to a studio for Howie Kurtz's Reliable Sources?

Katie Couric got scooped by a kid! Jega Sanmugam of Dougherty Valley High in San Ramon, Calif. published his sitdown with Flight 1549 miracle pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger before her 60 Minutes interview aired.

When Jennifer Aniston feels sentimental, she plays her old Brad Pitt phone messages. When Guy Ritchie feels sentimental, he does gay karaoke. When Marc Jacobs feels sentimental, he screws rentboy-style, outside.

• Lionsgate and the Weinstein Co. filed lawsuits against each other yesterday over distribution rights to the Sundance hit film Push. [THR]
• Shake up at Condé Nast: New Yorker publisher Drew Schutte is out and will be replaced by Condé Nast Traveler publisher Lisa Hughes. [NYP]
• The New York Times Co. is cutting staff at its About.com unit. [Reuters]
• Walter Isaacson has a few thoughts on how to save newspapers. [Time]
• The House has voted to extend the deadline to switch to digital TV. [NYT]
• Katie Couric will be hitting the catwalk during Fashion Week. Yay. [WWD]

After promising himself to CBS, pilot Chesley Sullenberger gave an interview to ESPN. Katie Couric should have known. "Sully" may be dreamy, and is definitely a hero, but he's also a media heartbreaker.

Matt Lauer is supposed to interview Barack Obama for the Superbowl pre-game show any minute now. He could use a good chat following his terrible week of endless dissing.

Godlike Hudson Hero pilot Chesley Sullenberger canceled a Today show interview Monday, but promised to come back and give Matt Lauer the exclusive when he could talk. But he lied!

In your Friday media column: Facebook is unholy, business is business, and Nicolas Sarkozy got you a present!:

• Dark days at the Times: The newspaper's in "advanced discussions" to sell a "substantial portion" of its Renzo Piano-designed headquarters. [NYT]
• Disney is merging its ABC TV network with ABC Studios. [WSJ]
• WNET-Thirteen is cutting budgets and laying off staff. [NYO]
• In Style publisher Lynette Harrison Brubaker is leaving the company. [WWD]
• Katie Couric will go primetime next Wednesday. [NYT]
• The final inauguration ratings are in. [AdAge]
• Is Condé Nast just publishing the same story in its various magazines? [FB]
• The Tribune Co. has sold off the Cubs for $900 million. [Chicago Trib]

• David Pecker's magazine empire may avoid bankruptcy after all. [NYP]
• The mood is expected to be bleak when Sundance kicks off next week. [WSJ]
• Discovery has signed Paula Zahn to create a weekly news show. [THR]
• An op-ed and podcast by Bono in the Times will debut on Sunday. [JR]
• Three more Politicker sites have been shuttered. [Jossip]
• The spring issue of Men's Vogue will be bound inside Vogue. [WWD]
• Katie Couric chats about feminism, Hillary, and the future of TV news. [CNP]

It appears that Sarah Palin's post-campaign career activities will consist exclusively of bitching about the media. In a new interview she takes on Katie Couric, Tina Fey, Caroline Kennedy, and all you jerks watching at home:

If Katie Couric seems a little less cheerful around CBS headquarters this morning, that's probably because America's sweetheart is turning 52 today. Others celebrating: Magazine mogul Jann Wenner is 63. Nicolas Cage is turning 45. CSI: Miami's David Caruso is 53. Kenny Loggins is 61. And Dustin Diamond, better known as Screech from Saved by the Bell, will turn 32 today.

• Katie Couric is still in third place, but her ratings are up considerably. [AP]
• CBS is the only network that has seen viewership rise this season. [Reuters]
• Portfolio's attempt to juice sales with a new cover strategy was a dud. [NYO]
• Ad revenue at the NYT fell 20% last month compared to a year ago. [AP]
• The Times has teamed with Riverhead to publish Obama: The Historic Journey, a book of with photos and essays, in February 2009. [Politico]

Nothing says Christmas like two people screaming at each other. Gawker video guru Richard Blakeley compiled and ranked the ten very best of this contentious year.